Thanks for all the comments.

I can see that the laissez faire argument has won the day, and on reflection that does make sense. The alternative could be a slippery slope as many of you allude to.

The reality is that until (if) it becomes illegal to sport gang patches or be a gang member, then there is no reason to refuse boarding to people on this basis alone. As it stands, therefore, I agree with various posters there is no reason to deny them boarding, unless they do something else that justifies this.

I do however strongly disagree that these people are just average citizens going about their daily business, for the people mentioned in the original post to travel and sport their gang patches, would have been a deliberate statement on their part, and on a personal level I find what these gangs stand for to be despicable. I don't buy into the gangs as groups of mates arguments either, but it needs some legal framework to define which ones are dangerous and which ones are harmless, as opposed to just my opinion.

A more constructive response to the situation would be to raise the matter at the political level here in NZ where it can be properly debated and factored into the ongoing review of anti-gang policy.

Hopefully New Zealand will move towards legislative curbs on gang activity which would make this whole argument moot.

Rgds